Metallic desk



B. G. RAND METALLIC DESK July 18, 1933.

Filed March 19, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l .JIIIIIIII 36 1 llzvezzlar 'amlw 6: Mad

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Ailorzzg B. G. RAND METALLIC DESK July 18, 1933.

2 Sheets-$heet Filed March 19, 1930 [arena/ W G.

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on a larger scale.

Patented July is, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE BENJAMIN e. RAND, or NORTH TONAWANDA, imw-Yonx, ASSIGNOR 'ro REMiNGTOIN H H .mmnnrc, or BUFFA'LOLNIEWPYORK 1 METALLIC nEsx Application filed March 19, 1930. Serial 1 10. 437,087.

This invention relates to metallic desks or a plurality of. pedestalunits 11 formed of similar articles of furniture, and it hasparticular reference to structures which may be readily assembled and disassembled and from which various'types and sizes of pedestal desks may be formed. 7

Heretofore metallic desks have been formed of parts designed for a single size and type desk, were not adapted to combine with other arts whereby several types and sizes of desks could be'formed, and have required considerable mechanical skill and special tools to assemble and disassemble the parts. Due to these conditions'the parts have usually been assembled by the manufacturer and shipped as complete desks.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a metallic pedestalldesk structure formed of interchangeable parts which may be so combined with each other that various types and sizes of desks may be formed by substituting a minimum number of parts. The invention also comprehends a desk structure whichmay be shipped in compact disassembled form and which may be properly assembled by anyone of average skill.

The invention further comprehends the provision of a special pedestal structure to gether with a special leg structure and In the drawings: 7 Fig. 1 is a frontelevational view of the desk.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional plan view taken on the line 22 of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 3-3of Fig. 1. i

Fig. 4is a fragmentary cross. sectional view taken on the line 4-4 ofFig. 3, drawn Fig.5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view takenon the line 5--5 of Fig. 1, also drawn on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3, drawn on a larger scale. p

" Fig; 7 is a fragmentary perspective view done of the legs. a i i As illustrating the invention there is shown a double pedestal desk comprising a top 10,

I attached to the frame 16 of the toplO.

drawer units 12 and a plurality of legs 13. The compound top 10, as best illustrated in Figs.-3 and 5,.is described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 427,842, filed February 12, 1930 and will be briefly described herein as consisting of asheet of fibrous surfacing material 14 glued orqce niented to a flat plate 15 with which it is coextensive. The surfacing material 14 and the plate 15 are mounted on a reinforced frame 16 which is'slotted to receive tongues formed on a binding strip 17. Mounted on the underside of frame 16 of the top 10 are a plurality of attaching bosses 18, equal in number to the number of legs, or a total of eight in the desk illustrated.

The plurality of bosses 18 being indentical in construction, a description of one will read on all. -A boss 18 is formed from a small square of .flat sheet metal 19, having a depressed. square central portion 20 of less area than i the plate, substantially the size and shape ofa leg member 13. A slightly depressed. circular bolt seat 21 having an opening 22 is formed centrally of the depressed portion 20 in which a bolt 23 having a hexagonal head is seated, being prevented from rotation by a strip 24 engaging the bolt head and which is welded or otherwise fas-" tened to the depressed portion 20. The por-' tion of the plate 19 remaining in the original plane after the depressed portion 20 is formedprovides a flange 25 which is rigidly The pedestal units are shown in the drawings as four-legged three drawer units identical in structure.- It should be borne in mind, however, that dissimilar pedestal units may be combined to form a different type of desk,

or only one pedestal unit may be combined.

withia pairof plain legs toform a single pedestal desk. These and other combinations of partsuwhereby different sizes and types of desks may be formed will be hereinafter described. I r

A-pedestal unit comprises a drawer unit 12 and a plurality of legs 13 detachably connected thereto. A drawer unit is formed of a pair of rectangular-sheet metal side'plates or panels. and a rectangular rear plate or panel 31 of equal height, each provided at the lower side thereof with an inturned flange 32 or 33 respectively. A substantially rectangular bottom plate 34, longer than the side panels 30, and. wider thanthe rear panel 31, is mounted upon the flanges 32 and with the side panels and rear panel equally spaced from the rearcorners of the bottom plate, thus providing a structure in'which the side and back panels do not meet. The bottom plate 34 has a'square shaped portion 35 cut away at each corner, each side'of said portion having a length equal to the distance the side and back panels are spaced from the corner. Connectingthe' side panels 30 to the rear panel 31 are a pair of inwardly projecting relieved corner members 36 which form a seat in which legs l3are detachably mounted. Each corner member 36 is formed of a single piece of sheet metal, which is substantially as long as the-height of the panels, and which, in cross'section, has a 90 re-entrant angular portion 37 formed by the walls 38 and 39 and side and. rear flanges 40 and 41, which lie parallel to the planes'of-a-djacent side and rear panels,,and to .which they are rigidly connected by spot; welding or other well known means. 1 I

Theforward ends of the sidepanels are provided with angle members 36 similar to the angle members 36, the difiierencebeing there are no flanged portions corresponding tov flanged portions 41. This construction provides an open sided drawer unit for mounting the clrawers50, which are slidably mounted uponguides 42.- The guides are attached attheir forward ends to the members 36 and have their rear ends welded or otherwise attached to vertical channel bars 43 which reinforce the side panels 30. Mounted between the flanged portions 40, adjacent the 'upper and lower extremities of themembers. 36 are a pair of opposed U shaped angle bars-44, which, with the top cross piece 45 anda reinforced channel 46 formed on the bottom plate 34, maintains the rectangularity of the drawer unit. The reinforced channel 46. is formedfby upwardly and inwardly bending the forward portion of the bottom plate 34 into a channel which is reinforced at its corners by angle braces 47, rigidly'secured to the channel 46 and the member 36. 1 The angular portions 37 of the relieved corner members 36 and 36'lformed by joining the walls38and'39 are provided with a plurality of spaced bolt seats 50 each having a centralopening 51. :The legs 13. which are seated in the relieved corner members 36 and 36 of the drawer units are tubular members, rectangularin cross section, and are provided with a plurality ofopenings 52 in one of their inner corners. The openings 51 ofthe corner members, are aligned with the opento the relieved corner members.

ings 52 in the legs, and bolts 53, adapted to engage nuts 54, detachably connect the legs The nuts 54 are rigidly secured in coaxial alignment with the openings 52 by straps 55 welded to the legs as shown in Figs.2 and 4..

By this arrangement the legs, which are of a length greater than the corner members, project therebeyond and support the drawer units in spacedrelation to the floor. I

The upper ends of the legs 13 are provided with inserted and welded rectangular cupshaped members 56, formed with depressed central portions 57 and central openings 58. The bosses 18 of the top closely engage the cup-shaped members 56 and are detachably secured thereto by the bolts 23 and nuts 59. Adjacent the upper ends of the legs, openings 60 are provided,through which access to the nuts 59'may be'had for assembling or dismantling the desk.

The spacing of the pedestal units with respect to each other is determined by the location of the bosses 18-which engage the legs. A central drawer space, 61 in which a drawer 62 is slidably mounted upon guides 63, has its rear portion provided with a narrow flanged. panel64 whichzis detachably secured tothe adjacent legs 13 ofthe pedestal units by bolts 65, screwed into reinforcing plates 66 mounted on the inner sides of said legs.

- The structure above defined is adapted for assembly in various combinations whereby various sizes an-d1 types of desks may be formed by substituting a minimum of diiferent parts' That is to say, the drawer units are standardized structures in which there are no drawer division cross pieces to interfere with fitting the unit with single or double depth drawers. The drawer units are adapted to receivefour standardized legs to form a four-legged pedestal, or the inner pair of legs may be terminated flush with the bottom plate to form a two-legged pedestal. A combination of a pair of the former pedestals with a standardized top providesan eight-legged double pedestal desk, while a combination of a pair of the latter pedestals provides-a four-legged double pedestal desk, either of which may be fitted with various drawer combinations. A further variation of type may .be obtained by combining either a four-legged or'a two-legged pedestal with a pair of legsand a smaller top to form a single pedestal desk. Larger or smaller desksof either the four-legged or two-legged pedestal type may be formed by providing a longer or shorter top, a wider or narrower central drawer, and-a larger or shorter back panel, these being the only parts that need to be changed. 3 i

From theforegoing description it will be apparent that a desk structure has been provided that facilitates manufacture bystandardization ofja maximum number of'interchangeable parts. Other adaptations may specific details described herein for the purposes of illustration;

What'is claimed is:

1. A desk pedestal structure comprising rectangular bottom, end, and side panels connected to provide a box having an open top and an open front, said bottom panel having cut-away corners providing side and end margins of reduced length, said side and end panels being substantially coextensive with the adjacent margins of the bottom panel, whereby adjoining vertical edge portions are spaced from each other, a corner member in each vertical rear corner of the box, each rear corner member having spaced flange portions rigidly connected to vertical marginal portions of the end and side panels respectively, each rear corner member having an angular central portion extending inwardlyin the space between the adjoining vertical edge portions of end and side panels to form a seat portion, a front corner member secured to the remaining vertical edge portion of each side member, each front corner member having an inwardly extending angular seat, portion, means connecting said front corner members, said means being spaced from the bottom plate, a plurality of supporting legs, each leg being substantially rectangular in cross section and having two adjacent sides received in the seat portion of a corner member, and means securing each leg to its respective corner member.

2. A desk pedestal structure comprising a drawer unit having a bottom plate and verti cal end'and side plates secured to the bottom plate, means rigidly connected to the opposite vertical margins of the side plates and to the end plate to form a rigid structure, said means being coextensive with said plates and each provided with an inwardly extending portion forming an angular seat, means secured to each of the remaining vertical margins of the side plates and provided with inwardly extending angular seats, a plurality of supporting legs, each leg being substantially rectangular in cross section and having two adjacent sides received in a seat, and means securing each leg to its respective seat,

3. A desk pedestal structure comprising a drawer unit'having a bottom plate and vertical end and side plates on the bottom plate forming a rigid box having an open top and on open front, the front and rear vertical corners of said box having inwardly extending portions providing angular seats, a plurality of supporting legs, each leg being substantially rectangular in cross sectionand having ing two adjacent sides received in a seat, and means securing each leg to its respective seat.

4. In a desk structure, a top unit, a plate secured to the top unit and having a depending boss, a bolt having a shank portion extending through the boss and a head portion Within said boss, means within said boss for retaining said bolt against turning movement a tubular leg, a cup member within the leg adjacent an extremity thereof, said cup receiving said boss and having an opening receiving the shank of the bolt, said leg having an opening adjacent said cup through which a nut may be entered and applied to theprotruding shank of the bolt.

5. A sheet metal desk comprising a top unit having a fiat plate, a composition cover sheet thereon and a reinforced frame embracing the marginal portions thereof to provide a rigid top structure, a pedestal unit having rigidly connected side and back walls provided with recessed corner members having seat portions, substantially rectangular supporting legs, each leg having a pair of adjacent sides received in said seat portions, means rigidly attaching said legs to said corner members to support said pedestal unit, and means for rigidly securing the upper ends of said legs to said reinforced frame, said units being otherwise unattached, whereby said structure cooperates to provide a substantially rigid non-flexible desk.

BENJAMIN G. RAND. 

